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Nutritional Blindness. Xerophthalmia & Keratomalacia

by A. SOMMER. 282 pages, illustrated. Oxford University Press, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. 1982. $24.95

This book is an in-depth treatise on xerophthalmia and keratomalacia—diseases caused by a decrease of Vitamin A activity in the body. This work is aimed at ophthalmologists, pediatricians, nutritionists, scientists, and public health workers—quite a large audience—yet it achieves its goal of education for all these varied specialists. The book essentially details "the Indonesian Project," that is, a series of four studies begun in 1975.

The first study was a longitudinal prospective study of 4,600 pre-school rural children. After baseline data was obtained, they were put into a double-blind study of high-dose versus low-dose Vitamin A. The second and third studies concerned children with corneal and non-corneal xerophthalmia, respectively. The fourth study was a national xerophthalmia prevalence survey carried out in 23 of 27 provinces of Indonesia. This latter study involved over 36,000 children.

After a short background section the book proceeds to clinical considerations involving all aspects of the eye: retina, conjunctiva, and cornea.